Ruminations from the Arizona Room is a series by Dr. Elizabeth Oakes, a former Shakespeare professor, a spiritual writer, and an award winning poet. A Sedonian of four years, she will share the thoughts that arise as she sits in the literal Arizona room in her home as well as the metaphorical “Arizona room” that is Sedona.
By Elizabeth Oakes
(April 24, 2017)
The Cup of Life
The cup holds everything –
things you think you want
and things you know you don’t.
You will call it milk
as from your mother
as she fed you
through the pain
sometimes
of your pulling and her fullness.
You will drink life like this –
you will cry for it,
grow muscle and bone on it.
You will think you hold the cup.
You will swear you do.
You will tip the cup to your open lips.
You will tip it to the lips of others.
Sometimes it will be lemonade, whiskey,
coca-cola, and then other times wormwood
or that concoction Socrates drank.
It will always be there,
but sometimes you will find
even the delicious to be sour or bitter.
Sometimes you will drink, but
there will be no sustenance.
This is how you grow something
other than muscle and bone.
It will pass on down, this cup,
just as it passed to you, for
it is always full.
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1 Comment
Very beautiful Libby! Thanks again